For example, as a nondestructive inspection method for inspecting or detecting an interior state (non-woven state of the reinforcing bar, etc.) inside a composite structure such as a reinforced concrete construction such as a building, pier of a express highway and dam, or a state inside the surface layer such as iron components and temperature distribution inside a blast furnace, without exerting physical and/or chemical adverse effects on the subject of inspection, there have conventionally been known an ultrasonic method, IR thermography method, radar method, X-ray method, etc. However, all of these methods are limited remarkably in the subject of inspection, while having the limitations in the resolution of the interior state and in the depth inside the surface layer that can be inspected.
Therefore, the inventors and others of the present invention proposed a nondestructive inspection method and apparatus for artificially generating muon particles using a particle accelerator, capturing the muon particles generated with the particle accelerator at a predetermined solid angle while performing magnetic confinement, transporting the particles to inspection targeted reinforced concrete to apply, detecting an amount of positrons emitted by energy loss of the applied positive muons in the reinforcing bar portion, and thereby detecting a state inside the reinforced concrete (for example, see Patent Document 1).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-14816